Described below are a method for operating an operator control device of a motor vehicle, an operator control device and a motor vehicle.
Touch-sensitive operator control units or touchpads are already known from the related art and are used, for example, in laptops to control or select functions of the laptop. Therefore, the touchpad can determine a position of a finger with which a user touches the touchpad, and therefore permit interaction with a screen content of the laptop. For this purpose, for example, a mouse cursor can be controlled on the screen by the user touching the touchpad with his finger. In US 2011/0304550 A1 an operator control unit is described which is configured to make available a plurality of input modes, for example an input with a finger or an input pin, and to adapt a configuration of the operator control unit to the instantaneous input method.
Such touchpads are also being increasingly used in motor vehicles so that a user, for example the driver of the motor vehicle, can control functions of the motor vehicle, for example infotainment components, a navigation system or a telephone. These functions can be controlled, for example, by pressing the touchpad directly or by sweeping over the touchpad. In this context, deviations between the desired input and activated input may occur if the driver is, for example, concentrating on driving the motor vehicle during the journey and inadvertently presses the touchpad.
It is also known from the related art to combine touchpads with a force sensor system which determines the force of a user's finger, that is to say a pressure, which the user applies to the touchpad with his finger. By detecting the pressure, it is possible to trigger a function by an activation force or an activation pressure. This means that the user can choose a function, for example, by sliding over the touchpad and can select the function by pressing. Therefore, the behavior of a known mechanical key can be simulated. The respective function is triggered only when pressure is applied to the touchpad. In order to improve further the subjective quality impression in the case of activation, a mechanical haptic impulse, for example a vibration, can be generated by an actuator. In addition, a sound, for example a clicking noise, can also be generated by a loudspeaker in the case of an activation. As a result, when activation occurs the touchpad feels virtually like a mechanical key.
Furthermore, touch-sensitive screens or touchscreens are known from the related art. Such touchscreens are provided in for example in tablets which are known per se in order to control a program sequence of the tablet by touching parts of the screen, for example with a finger. In this respect, US 2014/0043259 A1 presents an electronic device with a touchpad and a touchscreen. In this context, the sensitivity of the touchpad is changed as a function of whether the electronic device is used as a laptop or as a tablet.